115.77 Annotation
When there was no reasonable cause to believe that a student was emotionally disturbed and required special education, there was no obligation to submit an exceptional needs referral on the student's behalf. Hoffman v. East Troy Community School District.
38 F. Supp. 2d 750 (1999).
115.775
115.775
Duties of operators of certain charter schools. 115.775(2)
(2) The board of directors of the school district operating under
ch. 119 is a local educational agency under this section and shall comply with
20 USC 1400 to
1491o if the board of directors enters into an agreement with an operator of a charter school under
s. 118.40 (2r) under which the board of directors agrees to serve as the local educational agency.
115.775 History
History: 1999 a. 9.
115.777
115.777
Special education referrals. 115.777(1)(a)(a) A physician, nurse, psychologist, social worker or administrator of a social agency who reasonably believes that a child brought to him or her for services has a disability shall refer the child to the local educational agency. If the local educational agency to whom the referral is made is the school district in which the child resides but the child is attending a public school in a nonresident school district under
s. 118.51 or
121.84 (1) (a) or
(4), the school board of the school district in which the child resides shall provide the name of the child and related information to the school board of the school district that the child is attending.
115.777(1)(b)
(b) A person who is required to be licensed under
s. 115.28 (7), who is employed by a local educational agency and who reasonably believes a child has a disability, shall refer the child to the local educational agency. If the local educational agency to whom the referral is made is the school district that the child is attending but the child is a nonresident attending a public school in that school district under
s. 118.51 or
121.84 (1) (a) or
(4), the school board of the school district that the child is attending shall provide the name of the child and related information to the school board of the child's school district of residence.
115.777(1)(c)
(c) Any person other than those specified under
par. (a) or
(b) who reasonably believes that a child is a child with a disability may refer the child to a local educational agency. If the local educational agency to whom the referral is made is the school district in which the child resides but the child is attending a public school in a nonresident school district under
s. 118.51 or
121.84 (1) (a) or
(4), the school board of the school district in which the child resides shall provide the name of the child and related information to the school board of the school district that the child is attending.
115.777(2)(a)(a) All referrals shall be in writing and shall include the name of the child and the reasons why the person believes that the child is a child with a disability.
115.777(2)(b)
(b) Before submitting a referral to a local educational agency under
sub. (1) (a) or
(b), a person required to make a referral under
sub. (1) (a) or
(b) shall inform the child's parent that he or she is going to submit the referral.
115.777(3)
(3) A local educational agency shall do all of the following:
115.777(3)(a)
(a) Establish written procedures for accepting and processing referrals.
115.777(3)(b)
(b) Document and date the receipt of each referral.
115.777(3)(c)
(c) Provide information and in-service opportunities to all of its licensed staff to familiarize them with the agency's referral procedures.
115.777(3)(d)
(d) At least annually, inform parents and persons required to make referrals under
sub. (1) (a) about the agency's referral and evaluation procedures.
115.777 History
History: 1997 a. 164;
1999 a. 117.
115.78
115.78
Individualized education program team; timeline. 115.78(1)(1)
Definition. In this section, for a child who is attending a public school in a nonresident school district under
s. 118.51 or
121.84 (1) (a) or
(4), "local educational agency" means the school board of the school district that the child is attending.
115.78(1m)
(1m) Appointment of Team. The local educational agency shall appoint an individualized education program team for each child referred to it under
s. 115.777. Each team shall consist of all of the following:
115.78(1m)(b)
(b) At least one regular education teacher of the child if the child is, or may be, participating in a regular educational environment.
115.78(1m)(c)
(c) At least one special education teacher who has extensive and recent training and experience related to the child's known or suspected disability as specified in
s. 115.76 (5) (a) or, where appropriate, at least one special education provider of the child.
115.78(1m)(d)
(d) A representative of the local educational agency who is qualified to provide, or supervise the provision of, special education, is knowledgeable about the general curriculum and is knowledgeable about and authorized to commit the available resources of the local educational agency.
115.78(1m)(e)
(e) An individual who can interpret the instructional implications of evaluation results, who may be a team participant under
pars. (b) to
(d) or
(f).
115.78(1m)(f)
(f) At the discretion of the parent or the local educational agency, other individuals who have knowledge or special expertise about the child, including related services personnel as appropriate.
115.78(2)
(2) Duties of Team. The individualized education program team shall do all of the following:
115.78(2)(a)
(a) Evaluate the child under
s. 115.782 to determine the child's eligibility or continued eligibility for special education and related services and the educational needs of the child.
115.78(3)(a)(a) The local educational agency shall notify the parents of the educational placement of their child within 90 days after the local educational agency receives a special education referral for the child under
s. 115.777 or initiates a reevaluation of the child under
s. 115.782 (4).
115.78(3)(b)
(b) Before the expiration of the 90-day period, if a local educational agency needs an extension, it shall inform the child's parent of the need and reasons for an extension and request the child's parent to agree in writing to a specific extension of time beyond the 90-day period.
115.78(3)(c)
(c) If the parent does not agree to an extension, the local educational agency may request an extension from the division. The local educational agency shall inform the division of the reasons for the request. The division may grant a specific extension of time beyond the 90-day period if the local educational agency shows that it has acted in good faith and that there is good cause to grant the extension. If the division grants an extension, it shall notify the parent of the extension and the reasons for granting it.
115.78(3)(d)
(d) Subject to
pars. (a) to
(c), if the parents of the child or the local educational agency staff determines at any point during the process of the evaluation, development of the individualized education program or placement of the child that additional time is needed to permit meaningful parental participation, the local educational agency shall provide it.
115.78(4)
(4) Information. At the beginning of any meeting to address the evaluation, individualized education program or placement of a child, the local educational agency staff shall inform the child's parents of their right to be provided with additional time under
sub. (3) (d) and their right to a copy of the evaluation report under
s. 115.782 (3) (b) or
(c).
115.78 History
History: 1997 a. 164;
1999 a. 117.
115.782(1)(a)(a) The local educational agency shall notify the parents of the child, in accordance with
s. 115.792, of any evaluation procedures the agency proposes to conduct, the qualifications of the individuals who will conduct the evaluation and their names, if known.
115.782(1)(b)
(b) The local educational agency proposing to conduct an initial evaluation shall obtain informed consent from the child's parent before the evaluation is conducted. Parental consent for the evaluation does not constitute consent for placement for receipt of special education and related services. If the child's parents do not consent to the evaluation, the local educational agency may continue to pursue an evaluation by using the procedures under
s. 115.797 or
115.80.
115.782(2)(a)(a) In conducting the evaluation, the individualized education program team shall not use any single procedure as the sole criterion for determining whether a child is a child with a disability or for determining an appropriate educational program for the child. The individualized education program team shall do all of the following:
115.782(2)(a)1.
1. Use a variety of assessment tools and strategies to gather relevant functional and developmental information, including information provided by the child's parent, that may assist in determining whether the child is a child with a disability and the content of the child's individualized education program, including information related to enabling the child to be involved in and progress in the general curriculum or, for preschool children, to participate in appropriate activities.
115.782(2)(a)2.
2. Use technically sound instruments that may assess the relative contribution of cognitive and behavioral factors, in addition to physical or developmental factors.
115.782(2)(a)3.a.
a. That tests and other evaluation materials used to assess a child under this section are selected and administered so as not to be racially or culturally discriminatory and are provided and administered in the child's native language or other mode of communication, unless it is clearly not feasible to do so.
115.782(2)(a)3.b.
b. That any standardized tests that are given to the child have been validated for the specific purpose for which they are used, are administered by trained and knowledgeable personnel and are administered in accordance with any instructions provided by the producer of such tests.
115.782(2)(a)3.c.
c. That the child is assessed in all areas of suspected disability.
115.782(2)(a)3.d.
d. That assessment tools and strategies that provide relevant information that directly assists persons in determining the educational needs of the child are used.
115.782(2)(b)
(b) As part of an initial evaluation of a child and as part of any reevaluation of a child under
sub. (4), the individualized education program team and other qualified professionals, as determined by the local educational agency, shall do all of the following:
115.782(2)(b)1.
1. Review existing evaluation data on the child, including evaluations and information provided by the child's parents, previous interventions and the effects of those interventions, current classroom-based assessments and observations, and observations by teachers and related services providers.
115.782(2)(b)2.
2. On the basis of that review and information provided by the child's parents, identify the additional data, if any, that are needed, and the qualifications of the evaluators that are needed, to determine all of the following:
115.782(2)(b)2.a.
a. Whether the child has a particular category of disability or, in case of a reevaluation of a child, whether the child continues to have such a disability.
115.782(2)(b)2.b.
b. The present levels of performance and educational needs of the child.
115.782(2)(b)2.c.
c. Whether the child needs special education and related services, or in the case of a reevaluation of a child, whether the child continues to need special education and related services.
115.782(2)(b)2.d.
d. Whether any additions or modifications to the special education and related services are needed to enable the child to meet the measurable, annual goals specified in the child's individualized education program and to participate, as appropriate, in the general curriculum.
115.782(2)(c)
(c) The local educational agency shall administer such tests and other evaluation materials as may be needed to produce the data identified under
par. (b) 2.
115.782(2)(d)
(d) If a child is attending a public school in a nonresident school district under
s. 118.51 or
121.84 (1) (a) or
(4), when the individualized education program team conducts its initial evaluation of the child or any reevaluation of the child under
sub. (4), the team shall include at least one person designated by the school board of the child's school district of residence who has knowledge or special expertise about the child.
115.782(2)(e)
(e) Each individualized education program team participant who administers tests, assessments or other evaluation materials as part of an evaluation or reevaluation of a child under this section shall prepare and make available to all team participants at a team meeting a written summary of the participant's findings that will assist with program planning.
115.782(3)
(3) Determination of eligibility for special education. 115.782(3)(a)(a) Upon the completion of the administration of tests and other evaluation materials, the individualized education program team shall determine whether the child is a child with a disability. The individualized education program team may not determine that a child is a child with a disability solely because the child has received insufficient instruction in reading or math or because the child has limited proficiency in English.
115.782(3)(b)
(b) If the individualized education program team determines that a child is a child with a disability, the team shall prepare an evaluation report that includes documentation of determination of eligibility. The local educational agency shall ask each individualized education program team participant if he or she wants a copy of the evaluation report or additional time before the individualized education program team develops the child's individualized education program. If any individualized education program team participant requests a copy of the evaluation report at any point in the process of developing the child's individualized education program or considering the child's educational placement, the local educational agency shall give a copy of the report to each individualized education program team participant before continuing with the process. If no individualized education program team participant requests a copy of the evaluation report, the local educational agency shall give a copy to the child's parents with the notice of placement under
s. 115.792 (2).
115.782(3)(c)
(c) If the individualized education program team determines that a child is not a child with a disability, the team shall prepare an evaluation report. The report shall identify any educational needs of the child and any services offered by the local educational agency from which the child may benefit and shall include information about any programs and services, other than those offered by the local educational agency, that may benefit the child. The local educational agency shall give a copy of the evaluation report to the child's parents with the notice under
s. 115.792 (1) (b).
115.782(4)(a)(a) A local educational agency shall ensure that the individualized education program team does all of the following:
115.782(4)(a)1.
1. Evaluates a child with a disability in accordance with this section before determining that the child is no longer a child with a disability.
115.782(4)(a)2.
2. Reevaluates a child with a disability in accordance with this section if the local educational agency determines that conditions warrant a reevaluation or if the child's parent or teacher requests a reevaluation, but at least once every 3 years.
115.782(4)(b)
(b) The local educational agency shall obtain informed consent from the child's parent before reevaluating a child with a disability, except that such consent need not be obtained if the local educational agency has taken reasonable measures to obtain such consent and the child's parents have failed to respond.
115.782(4)(c)
(c) If the individualized education program team and other qualified professionals, as determined by the local educational agency, find under
sub. (2) (b) 2. that no additional data are needed to determine whether the child continues to be a child with a disability, the local educational agency shall notify the child's parents of that finding and the reasons for it and the right of the child's parents to request an assessment to determine whether the child continues to be a child with a disability. The local educational agency is not required to conduct such an assessment unless the child's parents request it.
115.782 History
History: 1997 a. 164;
1999 a. 117.
115.782 Cross-reference
Cross Reference: See also s.
PI 11.35, Wis. adm. code.
115.787
115.787
Individualized education programs. 115.787(1)(1)
Requirement that program be in effect. At the beginning of each school year, each local educational agency shall have in effect, for each child with a disability, an individualized education program.
115.787(2)
(2) Required components. An individualized education program shall include all of the following:
115.787(2)(a)
(a) A statement of the child's present level of educational performance, including how the child's disability affects the child's involvement and progress in the general curriculum or, for a preschool child, as appropriate, how the disability affects the child's participation in appropriate activities.
115.787(2)(b)
(b) A statement of measurable annual goals for the child, including benchmarks or short-term objectives, related to meeting the child's needs that result from the child's disability to enable the child to be involved in and progress in the general curriculum, and to meeting each of the child's other educational needs that result from the child's disability.
115.787(2)(c)
(c) A statement of the special education and related services and supplementary aids and services to be provided to the child, or on behalf of the child, and a statement of the program modifications or supports for school personnel that will be provided for the child to do all of the following:
115.787(2)(c)2.
2. Be involved and progress in the general curriculum in accordance with
par. (a) and participate in extracurricular and other nonacademic activities.
115.787(2)(c)3.
3. Be educated and participate with other children with disabilities and nondisabled children in the activities described in this subsection.
115.787(2)(d)
(d) An explanation of the extent to which the child will not participate with nondisabled children in regular classes, in the general curriculum and in extracurricular and other nonacademic activities.
115.787(2)(e)1.1. A statement of any individual modifications in the administration of any statewide or local educational agency-wide assessment of pupil achievement that are needed for the child to participate in the assessment.
115.787(2)(e)2.
2. If the individualized education program team determines that a child will not participate in a particular statewide or local educational agency-wide assessment of pupil achievement, or part of such an assessment, a statement of why that assessment is not appropriate for the child and how the child will be assessed through alternative means.
115.787(2)(f)
(f) The projected date for the beginning of the services and modifications described in
par. (c) and the anticipated frequency, location and duration of those services and modifications.
